Vegan Pasta Topping

All around the Internet, this vegan pasta topping is referred to as ‘vegan Parmesan’. It’s a fairly simple mix of toasted sesame seeds, nutritional yeast, and salt. Of course cheese is not vegan, but nutritional yeast is sometimes used as a substitute and is often fortified with B12 which can be lacking in vegan diets.

Now, my sesame seeds were a little more toasted than Angela’s, but I have to say that the mix didn’t remind me at all of cheese. It tasted like toasted sesame seeds, which do have a nice crunch but did not really complement my dish of whole wheat pasta. But this was a fun experiment, and you’ve got to try new things to figure out what you like!

Tangy BBQ Sauce

Just in time for Memorial Day weekend, you can make your own BBQ sauce! The bottled stuff is full of high fructose corn syrup and other artificial ingredients, and making your own sauce is pretty easy. I adapted this recipe, simplifying things a bit and cutting back on the spiciness. This is still a tangy sauce though so if you prefer things a little sweeter, add another tablespoon of brown sugar. The consistency of this sauce is also thinner than the bottled variety but that also means it covers the food more easily.

I debuted the sauce with these BBQ mushrooms, served on a bed of sauteed collard greens. At times like these, I think I am meant to live in the South! It was an excellent dinner, and I can’t wait to try this sauce when it’s time for summer grilling.

2 c. vegetable broth
1 (6 oz.) can tomato paste
3 T Worcestershire sauce
2 T apple cider vinegar
1 T mustard
1 t minced garlic
1 T chili powder
1 T paprika
1 T brown sugar
1 t turmeric

Add all ingrdients to a saucepan, and whisk together. Heat to boiling, then turn to low and simmer for 25-30 minutes, or until thickened.

Mini-Quiches

For my cooking club’s “Mini-Foods” theme, I also made these mini quiches. I loosely based my recipe on this one. I don’t usually buy frozen hash browns, and found them very difficult to use. I started with a big clump of frozen potato, and when it finally thawed it kept burning and sticking to the pan. Next time I might try something simpler, and perhaps use mashed potato for the bottom crust. The quiche was also fairly dense so I might try beating the eggs with a hand mixer to make them a little fluffier. Still, this is a fairly simple recipe which makes a good appetizer or portable breakfast.

2 c. frozen hash browns, cooked in oil and seasoned with salt and pepper
1 onion, diced and sauteed
1 (10 oz.) package frozen spinach, thawed and drained
8 eggs, beaten well
1/2 c. cheddar cheese, shredded

Divide potato mixture and place in 12 muffin tins coated with cooking spray. Bake at 375F for 5 minutes.

Mix onions and spinach together, and divide among muffin tins. Divide egg mixture among muffin tins. Sprinkle cheddar cheese on each mini quiche. Bake at 375F for 20 minutes, or until browned.

Cream of Zucchini Soup

My cooking club theme this month was “Mini-Foods”, meaning miniature versions of your favorites. We had an excellent lineup including miniature gourmet sandwiches, pulled pork sliders, Martha Stewart’s mini mac and cheese, and lemon tartlets for dessert.

I read a tip about serving chilled summer soups in a shot glass, and wanted to give that a try. My last experience with cold summer soup was pre-blog, but my family probably still remembers the Watermelon Gazpacho disaster. I chose a completely different type of soup with this Cream of Zucchini recipe. I totally understand that cold soups aren’t for everyone, but this one is both visually appealing and refreshing. Shhhh – the creamy aspect was actually fat free sour cream! You can’t really drink it from the glass, but even if you have to take out a spoon it’s still a fun way to eat a healthy serving of vegetables.

Meatless in May: Week Three

I honestly thought that this challenge would be more difficult, but it’s turned out to be much easier than I expected. But there is one topic I’d like to talk about today – what to do when you’re hungry, and don’t have a vegetarian meal prepared. Some of my favorite take-out meals contain meat: the Greek salad with grilled chicken from the sub shop down the street, the brown rice tuna sashimi at Whole Foods, even the turkey sub from Subway. I don’t do take-out often, but this is a busy month, and a few nights I found myself scrambling to find new options.

One night, I made a salad at the Whole Foods salad bar (since the vegetarian sushi was wholly unsatisfying) and another night, I just came home and had a grilled cheese. So far this month I have brought my lunch to work each day, but I do have an emergency can of vegetable soup stashed. Of course there are a lot of vegetarian options when eating out, but I have found that while eating vegetarian at home is easy, I have to concentrate harder when I am out.

But overall, I found that I’ve done even more meal preparation than usual this month. That’s been good for both my health and my wallet. I feel more inspired to create healthy meals and have saved money along the way, and that’s an unexpected but wonderful benefit.

Spring Quinoa

Blogging often pushes me to find new recipes, which is generally a good thing. But sometimes I just want to return to a recipe I’ve made before, and enjoy it again. Someone at work today mentioned quinoa, and that got me thinking about this Spring Quinoa, which was not only delicious but also easy to carry to work and class. And let’s face it, we all need meals that are both healthy and convenient!

Curried Cashew Spread

I wish I could give each and every one of you a spoonful of this amazing spread! The original recipe is from Gena at Choosing Raw, and it was just as good as promised. It’s a little spicy (but not hot), a little sweet, and I had forgotten just how much I like cashews. You could definitely use this as a dip, or in a wrap, but I just put a big spoonful on my Indian roasted veggies and bulgur, and it was perfect.

1 c. cashews, soaked in water for 6-8 hours
3 dates, soaked in water for 1 hour
2 T lemon juice
2 t soy sauce
1 t curry
1/2 t cumin
1/2 t cinnamon

Blend all ingredients in a food processor, and add water until spread reaches the desired consistency.

Indian Spiced Roasted Vegetables

Yes, the weather is getting warmer, but it’s not too hot to make roasted vegetables. Normally I go with more classic Italian combinations, but this time I used some Indian spices. I placed the veggies over cooked bulgur, and they served as an excellent base for another Indian recipe which will be revealed tomorrow!

1 eggplant, peeled and diced
2 zucchini, diced
1 onion, sliced
2 T olive oil
1 t paprika
1 t garam masala

Mix all ingredients in a 13″x9″ dish. Bake at 375F for 40-45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes.

Pasta with Leeks, Corn, and Arugula

I got more cooking inspiration from Real Simple, with this recipe for Pasta with Leeks, Corn, and Arugula. I followed the instructions, but substituted non fat plain yogurt for the heavy cream to lighten it up a bit. I didn’t love this one though – the arugula was too bitter, and there weren’t enough vegetables overall in the dish. Next time I’ll use more leeks since they are really the star of the dish, and I could always substitute spinach for arugula.

Meatless in May: Week Two

Week Two of Meatless in May brought some new challenges, but in the end, I kept my commitment to stay vegetarian.

I ate out a few times at restaurants, and just scanned the menu for vegetarian options. There seemed to be plenty of choices wherever I went. When I was looking at the menu, a few non-vegetarian meals were tempting, but once my meal was served I never gave it a second thought. I enjoyed fabulous cheeses and crostini, and Huevos Racheros!

I also ate with my family over the weekend, but my Mom made homemade vegetable pizza and my sister cooked portobello mushrooms on the grill which were excellent. I have had only one major craving – sushi! I picked up an avocado roll from Whole Foods which helped, but I think I need to visit a sushi place which serves a wider variety of vegetarian options.

A few people have asked questions about protein. There is a lot more protein than you might think in many foods. Let’s take my typical breakfast:

1/2 c. old fashioned oats (5 g)
1 c. skim milk (8 g)
1 T peanut butter (4 g)
Total = 17 g, which is more than 2 scrambled eggs

I often eat Greek yogurt in the afternoon for a snack, and the typical 6 oz. container contains 12-14 g of protein. And that’s in addition to the protein which I consume in beans and whole grains. So yes, it is possible to consume plenty of protein without eating meat.

Meatless in May is going strong and I’ll be back again next week with more portable vegetarian recipes since my summer class is starting. I’ll be in class 4 nights a week for a short while. Have a great weekend!